This invention relates generally as indicated to a transfer for elongated articles which includes an optionally deployable rolling restraint.
In transfers such as stacking carriages used in automatic stacking machines, different types of transfer carriages are required for elongated articles which will not roll and those which will. For example, one type of stacking carriage may be required for non-rolling articles such as angles, flats, channels, or beams, while another type is required for rounds or tubes which tend to roll. Because of the difficulty in converting from one type of stacking carriage to another, many mills have two completely different stacking and bundling lines for handling articles which will roll and articles which will not. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide a transfer such as a stacking carriage with an optionally deployable anti-rolling device which can quickly and easily be employed or not employed depending upon the types of elongated articles being handled. With the improvement of the present invention, complex and expensive transfer and stacking systems for elongated articles are able to handle a much wider variety of such articles.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an improvement in an automatic stacking machine of the type seen in applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,296. With such improvement, which may optionally be deployed, the machine can be used in connection with articles such as angles, flats, channels, or beams, as well as a wide variety of rounds or tubes.